Crazy Aunty Icka's Slightly Strange Short Stories
by Icka M. Chif
Summary: Short stories that are too long to go into Fic Snips, but too short to just post on their own. Mostly comedy. New: Day at the beach. Or not...
1. you just never know with him, do you?

Missing  
  
"I can't find a single one." Conan grumbled as he checked under the sleeping Mouri's bed. "I've checked everywhere, and they're all missing, even the ones from when Mouri-san tried to do the laundry and got turned-"  
  
"-pink, white, pastel blue, even the ones with the ribbons on them." Ran put her hands on her hips, an exaggerated frown on her face as she surveyed her room. "Really. They couldn't have ALL-"  
  
"-Disappeared!!" Hattori checked under his bed, the rest of his room in shambles from his frenzied search. . "This makes no sense! How could all of them-"  
  
"-vanish like that?" Kazuha growled as she tore through her dresser drawers. "Even my new ones, the ones with the-"  
  
"-black and red bats on them." Akako sulked in her large mansion as her servant quivered after reporting the loss. "Well, at least they're tasteful, not some stupid pattern like-"  
  
"-argyle!" Hakuba ran a hand thru his hair. He hadn't brushed it yet and it was sticking up every which way, making him look like some sort of mad scientist. "Where could the argyle ones Mum just sent have gone? I was going to wear those to-"  
  
"-school! I'm late!" Aoko wailed as she ran around the house. "And I can't find any of them anywhere! Wait! Maybe there's some in the-"  
  
"-washing machine devours and house elves adore." Nakamori read the Kid's latest message for the billionth time in less than a day. "This makes less sense then his usually messages! Argh! And why are my feet are starting to-"  
  
"-Freeze!" The little hand puppet bearing a remarkable likeness to the Inspector shouted. There was a slight pause as the pipe in its mouth was shifted and then it continued it's mini tirade in a flawless imitation. "I've got you now, Kaitou Kid!"  
  
The Kid snickered at the puppet on his hand, then fell back on the soft mound of that night's heist, laughing. It hadn't been easy, but it had been worth it, at least in his opinion. And was fun to throw the detectives and everyone off-guard occasionally.   
  
And he'd give them all back later tonight, all washed and clean. Really, what in the world was he going to do with a giant pile of socks?  
  
-fin- 


	2. sometimes they need a good kick in the b...

"What do you think they're doing in there?" Kazuha asked, pressing her ear against the wood door in an attempt to hear.   
  
Hattori, who was attempting to take a nap as he sat leaning against the door, cracked open an eye. "What do you -think- they're doing?"  
  
The pony tailed girl thought it over for a moment. "Nevermind..."  
  
He snorted, amused.  
  
"Mou..." Kazuha made a disgusted noise. "Well, it's their own fault, Kudo-kun's especially. He FINALLY returns after -how long- and doesn't say a word to Ran-chan about -anything-!!! And SHE claims to just be so happy about him finally being back that she's not pressing him on it! Sheesh! How dense can they get?"  
  
Hattori snickered and shut his eyes again. "That's why they have friends like us."  
  
"Yeah." She sounded pleased as she sat back down next to him, her back also against the door. "They're going to kill us when they get out, aren't they?"  
  
"Most likely." He agreed cheerfully. "What do you think, can you run faster than Neechan?"  
  
She pondered it over. "Yeah. But it's Kudo-kun we're going to have to worry about, he was a soccer player."  
  
"Heh." He grinned. "Good thing we live in Osaka then, huh?"  
  
There was a ruckus behind the door and Hattori casually rapped his fist against the wood. "Oi, Neechan!" He hollered. "You break it, you're going to have to pay for it!"   
  
Kazuha tilted her head, listening again. "Sounds like Kudo-kun distracted her."  
  
"Good." He folded his hands behind his head, using them for a pillow. "Would hate to see them have to explain this."  
  
She giggled. "That would be funny, wouldn't it?"  
  
"Yup."  
  
They sat in companionable silence for a few minutes, Hattori catching a bit of a nap while Kazuha played with her omamori. Finally Kazuha sighed.  
  
"What's up?" Hattori didn't bother opening his eyes this time.  
  
"Oh, was just wondering if your father had another pair of spare handcuffs. That way we could just handcuff them together or something."  
  
"Getting kinky are we?"  
  
"HEIJI!"  
  
"I'm joking, I'm joking!" He laughed, raising an arm to block her playful punch. "But it wouldn't surprise me if Kudo knew how to pick locks."  
  
"Oh..." She relaxed again, leaning against the door. "Still... Just kinda of wish that we could have thought of a better way of getting them together instead of locking both of them in a closet..."   
  
-fin-  
  
... for anyone curious, Kudo 'distracted' Ran-chan from using her karate skill to break down the door. o_O  
  
And to those wondering about my other fics, we've got a backlog of about 10 finished fics waiting to be posted... and another 7 currently in progress. ~_~;; Not including what ever may pop up along the way. (like these fics) So no worries, there's more on the way.  
... they'll just get posted when ever they decide they wanna get posted... eh-heh-heh-heh... ^_^;; 


	3. siblings can be a pain, but ya gotta lov...

"You and Ayumi-chan are getting close lately." Conan commented idly as the 2 not-kids walked behind the skipping tumbling trio of Genta, Ayumi and Mitsuhiko.   
  
Ai spared him a cool glance out of the corner of her eye. He'd been working up to that for a while. "You've never had a sibling, have you Kudo?"  
  
"Huh?" The question threw him a bit off balance. "No. I'm an only child."  
  
"Then you wouldn't understand." She returned her gaze to Ayumi, her eyes softening a bit. "It's different being a sibling, especially between sisters. Those feelings and actions don't just go away because the other one is dead."  
  
Conan gave her a strange look, then shut his mouth and was silent for a while. "Just don't hurt her, okay?" He asked grudgingly, like the words were forcibly pulled from his mouth.  
  
She gave him a bit of a smirk. "No more than you." 


	4. well, on the plus side, Nakamori and Hak...

Certain parts of being a Phantom Thief are tougher than others.  
  
The actual thefts aren't that big of a deal. The plans and schemes are easy enough to make up on the fly, it's often times harder to make up the riddles than to just go in and steal the gem.   
  
Costuming? Pshaw. If I wasn't a magician / phantom thief, I think I'd be in movies. Probably make a steal at it. Sorry, bad pun.  
  
Being someone else for longer than the few hours it normally takes to take care of a theft is more of a challenge, especially if it's around people who -know- the people I'm replacing.   
  
But it helps to learn their mindset. If I know how they think, chances are less likely that I'm going to goof up and do something out of character. Even if it means doing something that I would normally never do. Such as that one incident with the penguin. We don't talk about the penguin.  
  
Some things however, will always remain a mystery.   
  
Some things -should- always remain a mystery.   
  
If it wasn't for the fact that A: Inspector Nakamori and Hakuba Saguru are still stalking around outside, and B: I'm firmly sticking to the persona and mindset of 'Nodoka', I probably would have run screaming the moment I walked in the door.   
  
In retrospect, perhaps the woman's bath on the one night of the week that the local elderly group decided to go wasn't the wisest place to hide until the cops left...  
  
-fin-  
  
The name 'Nadoka' comes from Ranma's mother in Ranma½.  
  
The penguin comes from asking our tech guy at work to name a random food. When asked what kind of food penguin is, his grinning comment was "You can eat penguin."  
It beat 'spaghetti'. #^^# 


	5. brain chow mein: random streams of conci...

Once upon a time there were 2 oni, name Akai and Aoi. Akai was a red Oni and Aoi was a blue Oni. One day, Akai fell in love with a human rouge named Kuro, but knew that he would probably run from her, seeing as she was an Oni and not a human.   
  
So Aoi, who had also fallen in love with the human with out realising it hatched a plan. She pretended to attack the human, scaring the daylights out of him. Akai, upon hearing him scream came rushing to his aid and defended him from Aoi's 'attack'.   
  
Aoi retreated into the forest after that, never to be seen from again, thus sacrificing her friendship with Akai for Aka's happiness.   
  
What does that have to do with our story?  
  
Absolutely nothing.  
  
Our story deals with a girl named Blue, and a girl named Red, who shall henceforth be known as Aoko and Akako because 'The Blue Girl' sounds too much like a hentai title for comfort.   
  
Aoko and Akako were classmates that had little in common except for one thing. Both of them were both of them were chasing in a contrasting boy named Black Feather, whom we'll call 'Kuroba'. Why was he a contrasting boy? Because he wore black clothing when it was light and white clothing when it was dark.   
  
Kuroba would have stood out even if he wore dark clothing at night, he just had that kind of personality.  
  
Now Aoko was only interested in Kuroba in his dark set of clothing, she didn't know about his light set. Akako was primarily interested in him when he was known as 'Kid', and wore his light set of clothing.  
  
But there was one person who chased Kuroba no matter what set of clothes he wore. His name was White Horse, but we'll call him Hakuba. Hakuba knew about both his light and dark sets of clothes and was determined to get him to slip up in either set so he could catch the Kid.  
  
But other than Akako being a sorceress and her obsession with the Kid, Hakuba's obsession with time and the Kid, and Kuroba being the Kid, they were all normal well adjusted teenagers.  
  
Really.  
  
Alright, so maybe Aoko was the only normal one. But that was fine with her because A: she didn't realize it and B: She had a mop.  
  
But that has nothing to do with our story either.  
  
Our real story has to do with the Magnificent Mutagenesis Magical Masqueraders, a team of 4 unknown masked super hero teenagers who were out to save the world from the Puzzle Organization. Crimson Flame, Cerulean Wave, Jet Breeze and Snowy Earth, they were the fighters for Peace, Love, Justice and Ice Cream.   
  
They were occasionally helped out by a giant floating talking head named Silver Metal and the occasional mysterious phantom on their quest to rescue the fair Princess Pandora from her cruel entrapment inside of an un-known jewel.  
  
And that, my friends, is what this story is about.  
  
-FIN-. 


	6. ack Bad editing Sorry, otherwise the ita...

I'm driving everyone crazy singing this song, might as well have some fun with it.

And we figure there was a reason for Kid to be stalking Nakamori in our fics lately. #^^#

The Kaitou Came Back

Original Lyrics by a lot of people…

Parody by Icka! M. Chif

_      Old Mr. Johnson had problems of his own._

"BLEEP BLEEEEP BLEEP BLEEP the BLEEP!!!"

"Inspector Nakamori at it again?"

"Morning Hakuba-kun. Yup, it's the usual."

      _He had a yellow cat that just wouldn't leave him alone._

"How-? How does he do this?!"

"Kid note?"

"In his coffee this morning."

"Ah."

      _He tried and he tried to give the cat away._

"And why does he always send it to ME? Why can't he annoy someone else for a change?"

"Maybe he likes you, Inspector."

"That's not funny."

_      He gave it to a little man moving far away..._

"Hakuba-kun, I don't care how you do it, but I want you to drag the Kid to England when you go."

"Okay. C'mon, Kuroba, we're going for a little trip."

"Huh?"

      _But the cat came back the very next day. Yes, the cat came back.  They thought he was gone._

"BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP up BLEEP BLEEEEEEP!!!"

"He got another note?"

"Yup. Police station bathroom mirror."

      _But the cat came back the very next day.  He just wouldn't stay away, oh no, no no no no._

"I thought you took him to England, Hakuba-kun."

"I did. I don't know how he got back before I did!"

"This calls for drastic measures. Call Kudo."

      _The man around the corner said he'd shoot the cat on sight._

"You sure that's such a good idea, Kudo?"

"I'm not going to -shoot- him, just shoot -around- him."

"Riiiight."

      _He loaded up his shotgun full of nails and dynamite._

"Where did you learn to use shot guns and dynamite anyway?"

"My father taught me in Hawaii."

"...."

      _He waited... and he waited... 'till the cat came walking round_

"I'm gonna get you, Kid. And then I'm gonna lock you up where you belong..."

"Fancy running into you here, Kudo Shin'ichi."

"Kid!"

      _And ninety-nine pieces of the man was all they found..._

".... he shattered Kudo's brain."

"Yup."

"How?"

"Well... you know the pointy hat trick?"

".... Yes?"

"He's got a top hat trick instead."

"...."

"How do you know this Hakuba-kun?"

"Uh..."

      _But the cat came back the very next day. Yes, the cat came back.  They thought he was gone, But the cat came back.  _

"This is nuts! I can't get a moments peace."

"Hello, Inspector!"

"AAAHHHHH!!! Kid! Why do you keep doing this to me?!"

      _He just wouldn't stay away. He just wouldn't stay away, oh no, no no no no._

"Cause your station has the best donuts around. Bai!"

"...."

"... He stole my donut..."

fin.

Dunno what Shin'ichi or the Kid did there, but considering he's actually fired at the Kid before, he somehow got suckered into that spot. No, no clue on the pointy hat trick or the top hat trick either. Or why Hakuba knows what it is.

Do know that blame for this goes to a re-watching a Gravitation Anime Music Video to the song 'The Cat Came Back' before riding to work. *Rolls* Love the music.

*after showing video to friends*

Jermel *squeaks*: Please tell me that one of them was a girl.

Icka!: Nope!

Jermel: What about the one in the school girl uniform?

Icka! *laughs*:  Nope! They're both boys!

… I am _such_ a snickering yaoi fan-imp… #^^#


	7. wish we could do this when we were bored

Kaito was bored.   
  
Bored. Bored. Bored. Bored. BORED.  
  
The class was boring, the teacher was boring and his classmates were boring.  
  
Of course, due to the fact that the teacher was boring, most of his classmates were asleep. The teacher looked asleep too, just standing up and talking while doing it.   
  
Kaito half wished he could fall asleep too. But his brain wouldn't shut off long enough for him to do so. And his uniform was uncomfortable.   
  
Maybe if he was in his pyjamas, or something more comfortable, he could fall asleep.  
  
But it wasn't like he could wear his pyjamas at school.  
  
Could he?  
  
A grin spread across his face. Why not? It wasn't like anyone was really going to pay attention at the moment.  
  
A small *poof* of smoke, and he was lounging in his mismatched pyjama top and pants, oversized robe and comfortable slightly fuzzy house slippers on his feet.   
  
Much better.   
  
Next to him, Aoko's head started to droop, her eyes half lidded as she fought a loosing battle against falling asleep. She was so out of it, she hadn't even noticed his quick change.  
  
It was harder to change other people's clothes without the aid of a large piece of cloth or his cape, but he was up to the challenge.   
  
A quiet chant of '1-2-3' and a small puff of smoke later, and Aoko was now dressed in a an oversized t-shirt and a pair of boxers that he could of sworn were her father's. He smirked and with a second chant of '1-2-3' and puff of smoke, for modesty's sake he added her robe, which was blue with the strange scattered colourful patches.  
  
And she still didn't notice.   
  
He chuckled. Aoko was so cute sometimes.  
  
The teacher continued to drone on.  
  
Feeling rather accomplished, he looked around the room. Other students weren't even bothering to hide the fact that they were asleep, sprawled out on their desks and snoring. Others were at least making an effort, such as Hakuba. He'd propped up a book to read and keep him awake. It failed.  
  
1-2-3 *Poof!*  
  
Kaito resisted the urge to start laughing, lest he wake everyone up. Flannel pyjamas with magnifying glasses all over them. How the detective found them, he wasn't going to ask.   
  
And safely curled up in the British detective's arms was a worn stuffed elephant. Hakuba mumbled and cuddled it closer, as if sensing its appearance.  
  
The things Kaito would do for a camera sometimes....  
  
Curious, he started changing the rest of his sleeping classmates clothes into their pyjamas. It gave him something to do, and gave him a chance to practice some Magic at the same time. Although he did figure it was safer to let the magic have its fun and not try to think too hard on how it picked what they wore to bed.   
  
He never would have suspected that Keiko wore that to bed either... she didn't seem like the risqué type.  
  
A bump on his shoulder made him jump slightly. He glanced down to see a note sitting next to his chair. Kaito shrugged, picked it up and unfolded it. It was from Akako. 'Bet you can't guess what I wear to bed.'  
  
He raised an eyebrow at the dark sorceress, who winked back at him. He quickly deciding not to comment on it and turned the note into a white flower with a flick of his wrists and a tiny *poof*. A second *poof* and the flower rested with the rest of the flowers in the vase on a nearby bookcase. If she wanted to change into her sleepwear to catch a nap, she could do it on her own.  
  
Aoko chose that moment to distract him by falling sideways in her chair, leaning against him as she snored softly. He shifted slightly so that she wouldn't immediately put his arm to sleep and turned the still lecturing teacher's clothes into their pyjamas.   
  
Kaito quietly made a mental note that polka dots and plaid just did not go together.   
  
A yawn took him by surprise, and he slouched down in his chair a bit, Aoko sliding a bit closer to him, her head still lolling on his shoulder. He made an annoyed sound, brushing some of her long hair out of his face so that he could breath with out inhaling it.   
  
A glance around the room informed him that everyone who was a sleep was now in their pyjamas, and that Akako was now having a bit of fun of her own, having pulled out a magic marker and doodling on the people within reach. He gave a tired chuckle, which quickly turned into a yawn and closed his eyes, his body and mind finally relaxing enough to shut down.   
  
Sometimes being bored was fun.  
  
-fin-  
  
Okay, before people start thinking sweet, innocent Akako with the moving snakes on her armour is being perverted again, if I remember correctly, they do show her in her pyjamas in the manga.  
It's one of those long white old-fashion nightgowns with lace at the collar and long sleeves. Very modest and figure concealing.  
Heh. So there. ^_^ 


	8. he would have a pogo stick like that too

Of all the... stupid, idiotic, utterly MORONIC ways to break one's leg, Nakamori reflected, slipping on the sidewalk on the way to get into his car to head for work most utterly embarrassingly way for it to happen.   
  
He couldn't even say that he had gotten it in the line of duty.   
  
The only good highlight, if you could call it that, was the fact that the Kid had left one of his notes not 4 hours after his small slip.  
  
The Kid was coming. Tonight. For him.   
  
The message had been clear about that, not even much of a riddle, simply stating that he'd be by around 11 to drop something off for his favourite police inspector.   
  
Which was after visiting hours, of course. As if the Kid could possibly show up like a reasonable person at the regularly scheduled times.  
  
The radio in his hand buzzed. "All teams ready?" He asked gruffly, his nerves already tingling in anticipation. His men were waiting and ready, positioned on the roof, the lobby, outside, the elevators and the staircases, every place they could figure the thief to sneak in from.   
  
The radio clicked as the teams checked in. It was almost time... almost....  
  
The moment stretched as he felt his senses sharpen, becoming more alert. He licked his lips, feeling much like a hunting dog straining at its leash. He wanted to run, he wanted to chase, and he wanted to do it NOW.  
  
He may not have been able to physically chase the thief, but fortunately, the thief was accommodating enough to come to -him-.  
  
"I spotted him!" A voice crackled from the radio, the pistol sharp sound marking the beginning of the race.  
  
"Where is he?!" He demanded.  
  
"Uh... In the stairwell, sir."  
  
"Then catch him!"  
  
"We can't keep up, sir."  
  
"Why the bloody hell not?!"  
  
"He's on a pogo stick, sir."  
  
".... a pogo stick?"  
  
"Yes, sir. A motorised one, sir."  
  
"You're telling me that he's bouncing on a motorised pogo stick up the hospital staircases?!"  
  
"Yes, sir. And laughing. Hippity hop, just like some sort of mad deranged kangaroo from hell. He's covering half a flight in one jump, sir."  
  
Nakamori closed his eyes and clenched his teeth together. The Kid really was going to be the death of him with these crazy stunts and shenanigans of his.  
  
"Are all the staircase doors locked?"  
  
"Yes, sir."  
  
"Good."  
  
"Uh... pardon my asking sir, but won't he be able to pick the locks?"  
  
"Yes..." He growled, a low dangerous hiss. Curse these newbies. "But it will slow him down long enough for you go grab him, won't it?"  
  
"Oh. Yes sir."  
  
"Good. Now get up there and get him."  
  
"Yes sir."  
  
The radio clicked off and he found himself holding his breath. The Kid had to be on this floor by now, as he had said, locks weren't much of a deterrent.  
  
Sweat trickled down the back of his neck as the radio buzzed again. "He's in the hallway sir!"  
  
"Dammit man!" A jolt of fear sent a sliver of cold down his back. The Kid had always endeavoured to play fair, not letting anyone get hurt. The thief wasn't likely to change now, but the realisation that if the Kid did attempt anything, he wouldn't be able to get away was still a chilling one. "Get him!"  
  
"He's out side your door, sir!"  
  
"WHAT?!"  
  
The door slowly creaked open, a pale shadow reaching in and flipping the light switch off and casting the room into darkness, like a scene from a bad horror movie.  
  
"And here he is."  
  
The calm voice echoed out from both the pale dressed figure at the door and the radio in his hand.  
  
"Evening Inspector!" The Kid's normal voice chirped happily, the thief's features hidden by the back light, a radio glinting in his hand.  
  
"What?! You?!" Nakamori just -knew- the Kid was smirking, and threw the worthless radio at the thief. The door shut, and he couldn't see if it connected now that the sole source of illumination had been cut off.   
  
"Temper, temper, Nakamori-kun." The voice floated from all around him, impossible to pin were it was coming from. "You'll never heal if you keep your blood pressure up like that."  
  
He snarled in response, straining his ears in a vain attempt to find the Kid's location..  
  
"You don't seem happy to see me." The Kid teased, and he could just -feel- the smirk, even if he couldn't see it.  
  
He squinted, attempting to get his eyes to see when a soft 'click' by his head startled him, lighting his bed with a pale glow.  
  
"There." He was aware of the white shadow next to his bed, just out of reach now, the thief's hand coming off the light switch by his bed. A fresh bouquet of flowers that hadn't been there before rested in a vase next to his head. "That's better."  
  
It also meant that he couldn't see anything beyond the ring of light, the darkness still effectively cloaking the Kid. "You just couldn't come during regular visiting hours, could you?" He grumbled.   
  
A grin flashed from the shadows. There were times with the Kid, when it was just the 2 of them, that it felt more like they weren't exactly adversaries, but more like 2 people in on a joke that they only knew.   
  
Only he was never quite sure what the joke was.   
  
"They wouldn't let me in, actually." The thief's wryly amused voice informed him. "The head nurse said something about it being hospital policy not to let masked men in."  
  
He snorted. "Good for them." Of course, most of the doctors and surgeons wore paper masks when wandering around part of the time, but he wasn't about to point that out to the thief.  
  
He might take it as an invitation to come back, disguised as a doctor.  
  
The thief chuckled. "Yes, it does my heart good to know that you'll be in safe hands here." The words were meant sardonically, but he could sense the ring of truth in them.   
  
"Feh." He waved a finger at the thief and threw a murderous glare at the phantom thief, dark enough to peel paint. Of course, it had no effect on his intended victim. "Just wait, I'll catch you yet."  
  
"Not this time." The Kid grinned, tossing him a small rectangular piece of paper.   
  
He caught it. It was a calling card, a riddle that made no sense and a silly caricature of the Kid on the bottom.  
  
"I usually don't give those out this far in advance but-" The Kid shrugged, an eloquent roll of his shoulders. "Eh. At least the place is wheelchair accessible. Just something to keep my favourite inspector busy until he's back on his feet again."  
  
Nakamori snorted. "Thanks." The word was wry, almost sarcastic.  
  
The Kid beamed back. "Welcome!"  
  
Footsteps echoed in the hallway, his task force arriving on the late side. "And there's my cue to go." The Kid waved farewell, a white butterfly's movement in the shadows. "Get better soon, Nakamori-kun! Until next time!"  
  
With that, the thief was gone, disappeared out the window like a ghost.  
  
Just in time for his men to burst into the room, turning the lights and blinding him again.  
  
"Gyah!" He covered his eyes with one hand and motioned towards the open window with the other. "The window, he went out the window!"  
  
Of course, they wouldn't find anything, but sometimes it was the effort that counted.  
  
"Hey, Inspector?" One of the younger officers paused at the foot of the bed, pointing to the cast. "Was this here before?"  
  
He frowned, then leaned forward to see what the officer was talking about. There was a dark smudge down by his ankle that he didn't remember seeing before. He peered at it, then to the surprise and amazement of his officers, burst out into gruff laugher.  
  
On his cast, underneath a little Kid caricature the thief had scribbled the words 'Kid was here'.  
  
-fin- 


	9. ever had one of those things that's real...

"Where were you last night? We missed you at the party."  
  
"Oh, Hakuba-kun. Sorry about that. I ended up sleeping with Kaito."  
  
"Kaito?!"  
  
"Yeah. We shared the bed."  
  
"Bed?!"  
  
"Oh, get your mind out of the gutter. It's not like he could have done anything, tied to the bed like that."  
  
"... Tied?"  
  
"Yeah. The Key to the handcuffs disappeared and we had to wait for the sleeping gas to wear off before he could get loose."  
  
"Sleeping gas?"  
  
"It somehow got mixed in with his smoke screen."  
  
"..."  
  
"It was for an escape trick. You know, where the magician is bound to a frame and escapes in a cloud of smoke? Only this time it backfired, so I spent the night keeping an eye on him. That was good sleeping gas."  
  
"... In his bed?"  
  
"Why not? The floor was cold, and he very well couldn't sleep on the floor tied up like he was. ... Hakuba-kun? Hakuba-kun? Why are you hitting your head against the wall like that? Hakuba-kun?"  
  
-fin-  
  
I don't know, seriously just don't know. Sometimes the mental pics just won't leave me alone... 


	10. now kinda wondering about those points o...

Many many thanks to everyone who has commented about these short stray fics. ^_^ Really brightens our day to know we're brightening other people's days!  
  
***  
  
"Ayumi-chan?" Conan leaned away from the small girl who was standing up on her tip-toes to peer at the top of his head. "Is something wrong, Ayumi-chan?"  
  
"Your hair..." She pointed to the ever-present cowlick on the top of his head that refused to lie flat like the rest of his hair. "Why does it do that?"  
  
"Eehhh?" Genta and Mitsuhiko leaned over to peer at it as well. Conan looked at them nervously but said nothing.  
  
"That is pretty weird." Mitsuhiko commented, nodding. "I can't think of anyone else's hair that does that."  
  
"Shin'ichi-niichan's does." Ayumi mused. "The one time we saw him, remember?"  
  
"Oooh." The other two boys nodded as Conan began to sweat nervously.   
  
"Maybe it does something?" Genta exclaimed. "You know, like an antenna?"  
  
"An antenna for what?" Mitsuhiko scoffed.  
  
"Finding trouble!" Ayumi cheered "Something always happens when we go out with Conan-kun!"  
  
"Sou-sou! Ayumi-chan's right!" Genta and Mitsuhiko nodded eagerly. "Someone dies, or there's a robbery, or someone gets kidnapped, or some sort of mystery!"  
  
They paused, pondering this.   
  
"That's not a good thing." Mitsuhiko informed Conan seriously. "It's like you're cursed or something."  
  
Conan sweatdropped. "Oi, oi..." It wasn't like he did it on PURPOSE or anything.  
  
"Maybe it's the sign that he's cursed?" Genta offered. "Shin'ichi-niichan has the same problem, maybe we should avoid people with things on the backs of their head like that."  
  
"But if we do that, then we won't be able to do anything exciting anymore." Mitsuhiko shook his head.   
  
"Oh, yeah..." The large boy nodded, then grinned and slapped Conan on the back, causing him to rock forward. "Guess we'll keep you around then!"  
  
Conan stumbled forward a few steps, laughing nervously. Just who was keeping who around anyway?  
  
"Maybe it's to help him keep his balance." Ayumi mused as he straighten up. "You know, like a counter weight?"  
  
"Or a sail on a boat!" Genta cheered. He too a deep breath then leaned forward and blew on the triangle of hair like he was blowing out candles on a birthday cake, seeing if he could propel the small boy forward that way. Conan covered his head with his hands and glared at him.  
  
"I don't think that's going to work." Mitsuhiko shook his head.  
  
"Aww..." Genta wilted.  
  
Ai chuckled, moving up to join their little discussion as Conan uncovered his head. "I know what's it's for." She volunteered, a small secretive smile forming.  
  
"You do?!" Mitsuhiko and Ayumi exclaimed. "What is it? Tell us!"  
  
Ai smirked, then reached out to flick the errant hair with a finger. He twitched, rubbing the back of his head. "It's to annoy him with." She stated matter of factly.  
  
"Ohhh!" The three kids lit up like lightbulbs.   
  
"I wanna try it!" Ayumi cheered, bouncing up to swat the cowlick. Mitsuhiko laughed and did the same, followed by the much heavier hand of Genta.  
  
"Oi!" Conan covered his head back up, ducking down to avoid their questing hands. "That's not why its there!"  
  
"Then what is it for?" Ayumi asked, her innocent eyes puzzled.  
  
"Its... its... " He stumbled for an explanation. "It's time for a haircut, is what it is!" He exclaimed, quickly scampering off.  
-fin-  
Actually we have another theory on that triangle thingie on the top of his head.  
  
*Walks over to Conan and picks him up*  
*Grabs the triangle thingie and quickly turns it.*  
*Sets Conan down.*  
*Conan staggers off, moving mechanically*  
  
-It's like one of those keys to a wind-up toy. ^_^ Just wind him up, set him down and point him in the direction of the nearest mystery! 


	11. Always knew we'd figure out how he got g...

He was dead. D-E-A-D, Dead, Dead, Dead DEAD.  
  
And dang if he wasn't enjoying every moment of it.  
  
He, Kuroba Kaito, Magician, Thief and Prankster Extraordinarie, had managed to pull a stunt that no one in their right minds would every expect him to pull.  
  
Or their left minds either. Or what was left of their minds. What ever.  
  
He had pulled a panty raid.  
  
On Hakuba Saguru.  
  
Okay, so technically that made it a briefs raid, but the general gist of it still held. Sneak in, pick the locks to gain entry, steal the underwear and sneak out undetected with the goods. The last part being the most important.  
  
And his mother's odd craft classes had came in handy. Who knew that you could create so many different colours and patterns with tie-dye? The effect was quite dazzling, with them all strung up on the school's flag poles like that. And the ones he had hidden in the classroom too.   
  
He may have been a thief, but he always returned what he stole. Just not always in the same condition...  
  
Really, it was Hakuba's own fault anyway. One should never tell a *cough* suspected *cough* phantom thief that they couldn't sneak their way out of a paper sack with a road map.   
  
Although using the left over neon blue dye to dye the blond's hair candy apple green might have been a bit much...  
  
.... Nah.  
  
-Fin-  
  
Can just see Hakuba with bright green hair, looking up at the school flag pole and cursing.  
-and Akako pulling tie-dyed undies out of her desk drawer.... ^____^  
  
There's a comment in 'Game Trilogy' (written over a year ago, sheesh) about Hakuba with green hair. We've been trying to figure it out ever since. o_O  
  
Of course, Hakuba with green hair would probably look something like first season Kaiba Seto, or an older Kaiba Noa... Heh. Similar attitudes too!  
  
Due to some -really- bad past couple of days [massive understatement] including a death in the family, new fics will either be highly funky or non-existent for the next week or so.   
Just a heads up. 


	12. he's just not quite as imaginative

Hakuba glanced at his watch. Even accounting for the wild-haired boy's perpetual tardiness, he should be arriving in 3... 2... 1....   
  
"GOOOOOOOOOOOD MOOOOORRRRNNNN-"   
  
~SPLASH!!!!~   
  
Hakuba shut the cover to the watch with a very satisfying 'clik'. Right on time. He looked up, vaguely noting the shocked expressions on his classmates faces with pleased amusement.   
  
Kuroba Kaito stood in the doorway, water streamed down his dark clothing, painting it with globs of mirror bright gold craft glitter. An upside-down bucket covered his head, leaving just his chin visible. Aoko peered from behind his shoulder, her shoes just avoiding the puddle of water spreading at his feet.   
  
The class was un-naturally silent, un-consciously recognising the immobility in his normally fluid posture as a warning sign.   
  
"Heh." The magician reached up and slowly pulled the bucket off his head, the gesture deceptively casual. Narrowed violet eyes met his with un-erring gaze. "Hakuba." The voice was calm, giving away no sign of emotion.   
  
"Kuroba." He met the gaze with a cool one of his own, his cool facade un-broken by the force of the magician's piercing gaze.   
  
A manic grin spread across Kuroba's face as he pointed towards him with a flourish that only a true showman could pull off. "I accept your challenge!!!" Kuroba boldly announced.   
  
The class began to breath again, students moving now that the threat of danger had passed.   
  
Hakuba blinked. Challenge?   
  
Kuroba bounced into the room, Aoko rolling her eyes and following him with weary patience. She tossed her book bag on her desk as the magician stopped in front of his desk, still dripping water and metallic glitter all over the place with out a care.   
  
"Welcome to the Dark Side!" Kuroba grinned, sticking out a hand. "This is going to be fun!!!"   
  
From her seat, Akako put a hand over her mouth to muffler her laughter.   
  
"Dark side?" He blinked, a bad feeling rolling in the pit of his stomach.   
  
Aoko sighed. "You just had to get him started, didn't you?" She griped as Kuroba practically danced to his seat, brimming with maniac energy and heedless to the fact that he was soaking wet.   
  
"Started?" He echoed. Akako's muffled laughter grew louder.   
  
"Started." Aoko affirmed. "There's a reason why I only chase him around with a mop. The -last- time someone challenged him to a prank war, the school ended up looking like a psychedelic Easter egg."   
  
"Eh?" Prank war? He'd only meant to get back some of his own on the mischievous magician, not start a war. "But-"   
  
He paused. This was a challenge. A challenge to him, by the blast magician thief.   
  
There was NO way in H-E-Double Hockey Sticks he was going allow Kuroba to win.   
  
Eyes narrowed, he smirked back grim amusement settling over him like his deerstalker. "Let the games begin."   
  
***  
  
Attempt #1: Sign taped to Kuroba's back.  
  
Hakuba paused about half a minute after sticking the sign on the magician's back. He slowly reached back and a piece of paper off the back of his coat with a sense of dread.  
  
It was his note. 'I am a dorkus ignoramus' written in neat pencil.  
  
Below that in a more casual scrawl, Kuroba's handwriting read: 'and I can't spell either'.   
  
He crumpled up the paper and attempted to figure out his next attack.  
  
***  
  
Attempt #2: Itching powder in Kuroba's gym clothes.  
  
"Are you alright?" The PE coach asked, looking concerned as Hakuba tried valiantly not to scratch a particularly nasty itch right between his shoulder blades. "You're scratching like you have the chicken pox."  
  
"I am fine." He growled, shooting a dark glare at Kuroba. Kuroba shot back an innocent look.  
  
It failed miserably.  
  
***  
  
Attempt #3: Slugs and snakes and toads and other gross stuff in Kuroba's shoe locker.   
  
Lunch time, sweet lunch time. A break from the mundane monotony of class.   
  
Hakuba opened up his lunch box, looking forward to the shepherd's pie the cook had been in the mood to make.   
  
And promptly dropped the lid as several frogs hopped out. Hot on their trails were several snakes, one of which looked like it had a frog sticking out of its abnormally wide mouth. Which was followed by several moths, a couple of flies and a crow, which he -knew- he hadn't put into the locker.   
  
"Hmm..." Akako leaned over him, peering into the box, where a newt, a live squid and several smaller creatures attempted to crawl out. "If you're not going to eat them, can I have them?" She asked.   
  
He felt vaguely ill.  
  
***  
  
Attempt #4: Bleach Kuroba's hair blond.  
  
Hakuba stared.   
  
He had decided on attempting to dye Kuroba's hair blond, because it was the one prank that couldn't get turned back around on him. He was already blond.   
  
It shouldn't have worked. It was impossible to have worked.   
  
And against all of the stupid odds, it worked.   
  
Aoko shot her seatmate a concerned look as the teacher droned on. Kuroba, his hair a dull burnished gold, ignored it, his head propped up on one arm as he attempted not to fall asleep in class.   
  
He should have felt triumphant over this.   
  
And yet... he couldn't quite swallow down the sense of un-ease that accompanied the sight. He just KNEW something bad was going to come out of this.  
  
Very very bad.   
  
Hakuba began to twitch.  
  
***  
  
Aoko swatted Kaito upside the back of his head before plopping down next to him in the grass to eat her lunch. "How long are you going to keep torturing poor Hakuba-kun like that?" She demand crossly. "The poor guy is jumping at shadows."  
  
He snickered. "It's no fun getting him when he's expecting it. You have wait until he's not expecting it, THEN spring it on him."  
  
"Which'll be-? She inquired.  
  
Kaito grinned into his food. "About a week or two."  
  
She rolled her eyes. Great, a couple of weeks dealing with a paranoid detective in class. "You just had to let him think he pulled one off on him."  
  
He snickered and casually tucked a few strands of midnight blue hair back under the blond wig. "Can't wait to see his face tomorrow when I walk in with my normal hair. Besides, it's his own fault for walking up to Mom asking her if he could put bleach in my shampoo to turn my hair yellow."  
  
She raised an eyebrow. "You're kidding."  
  
"Nope. I was home at the time too. It's a good thing Mom was a stage actress before she married Dad or I don't think she would have been able to keep a straight face when she agreed."  
  
Aoko paused for a moment, looking at him, then shook her head to hide a giggle. "You're terrible, you know that?"  
  
"I know." He shot her a crooked grin. "But that's why you love me."  
  
"... baka."  
  
-fin-  
  
Okay, Kaito's last line is a little OOC, but it wouldn't go away, so there it is.  
No clue on what his Mom did before she married Toichi, but it kind of makes sense that she would have been his stage assistant, ne?  
  
My last biological grandparent died on last Monday, and it hit a little harder than anticipated. On the other hand, we tied with Magik-chan for first place on edogawaconan.com's picture contest, and we'll be leaving for vacation in a little over 2 weeks. ^_^  
So we're better, just currently torn in a mix of wanting to be depressed and cry, and going crazy with giddy super excited hyperactivity.  
  
In other words, the insanity is back to normally accepted levels. *Grins* 


	13. White Day

Sorry this is a few days late. Took me a while to find where I hid it.  
  
======  
  
White day.  
  
The fourteenth of March. One month after Valentine's Day.  
  
It's the day when it is the guys turn to give the girls in their life a token of affection, something small and white, or some cookies or something just kind of special.  
  
Not that Kaito had remembered.   
  
They were on their way home from school now, and he had somehow blithely remained oblivious to it the entire day, despite looks from the majority of the girls in class, most especially Akako. Even though he had rained a shower of white flowers during one of the breaks. But he did that occasionally when he was bored anyway, so it didn't count.  
  
Aoko wasn't sure if she should pleased, or if she wanted to hit him for being so dense. After all, she hadn't given him any chocolate for Valentine's Day this year.   
  
Not that he had remembered that holiday either. In fact, he'd simply been overjoyed at the fact that people were giving him chocolate.   
  
The idiot.   
  
Beside her, he stretched, raising his hands over his head and looking for all the world like a satisfied cat, before suddenly blinking, losing the sleepy expression to a maniac grin.   
  
A sure sign of trouble.  
  
"Oh, Aoko!" He grinned, looking pleased with himself. "Close your eyes!"  
  
She gave him a sceptical look. He waved his hands at her, sweat dropping. "It's nothing bad! Really, ah..." He scratched his head, giving up. "Watch."  
  
He held his hands up to show that they were empty, even though she -knew- that they weren't. He always had some sort of trick up his sleeve, something that never failed to amuse her. With a quick flip of one hand, he suddenly held a flapping dove aloft. He grinned, offering her the bird.   
  
She hesitantly reached out and took it, the bird perching on her fingers. "It's a dove." She commented.  
  
He beamed. "Yup!"  
  
"..." She looked up at him. "You have lots of doves."  
  
"Not," He corrected, "like this one. Take a closer look."  
  
Raising an eyebrow, she did so.  
  
And then realised that it wasn't a dove. Not really. It was actually a stuft animal, made to look like a dove. It even had a few feathers sewn on to it.  
  
"Look." He grinned, that grin that he had only when he was up to something. He pressed a small button under the bird's collarbone, causing the wings to flap. "If you hold this down, there's a place for you to keep stuff under the wings. So no one can find it. Neat, huh?"  
  
She nodded, petting the dove's head in shock. "Yeah..."  
  
He beamed, honestly pleased instead of one of his fake cheerful grins. "Was fiddling around with stuff and it kind of reminded me of you. Anyway, see you tomorrow!"  
  
Kaito waved, heading down the path to his house. She waved back, only partially aware of a silly grin spreading across her own face.  
  
That was her strange but often times sweet friend Kaito alright... Completely forgetting about a holiday, but giving her a gift simply because he thought she might like it.   
  
-fin-  
  
For more information on White Day, see here:  
  



	14. Green Day

Thanks to Becky Tailweaver for the mental pic of Hakuba standing there in the first scene. *snickers*  
  
****  
  
"Eep!" Beside Aoko, Keiko jumped and looked around, before settling her gaze on Kaito, who was walking behind the two girls, his hands behind his head as he stared at the sky. She pointed at him, her finger shaking in outrage "You!"  
  
The Magician blinked, pausing in his walk. "Huh?"  
  
"You pinched me!" She accused.  
  
He blinked again. "Did not."  
  
"You did too!" The pigtailed girl rubbed her rear. "You pinched me on the butt!"  
  
Kaito looked taken back. "I did not! And I wouldn't anyhow. The only person I would do that to is Aoko, and I only flip her skirt." He defended himself indignantly. "No pinching."  
  
It was Aoko's turn to blink, which she did, not quite sure if she had just been complemented or insulted. "That... that's true." She slowly admitted. Hers was the only skirt he seemed to flip, and he never did anything other than that. No pinching or groping.   
  
Of course, she'd smack him so hard with a mop he'd never be able to see straight if he tried that.   
  
Keiko rubbed the bruised area again. "Well, SOMEBODY pinched me!" She complained.   
  
"I didn't see anything." Kaito shook his head. "Are you imagining things?"  
  
"Eep!" Aoko jumped, holding the back of her skirt as she wildly looked around. The other two blinked, watching her. "Something just pinched me!" She exclaimed.  
  
"See?!" Keiko pointed triumphantly.   
  
"I still didn't see anything." Kaito frowned. "Did you?"  
  
The girls exchanged looks before shaking their heads. "Nope."  
  
Aoko gave Kaito a suspicious look. "You're not up to anything... are you?"  
  
He held his hands up in a placating gesture. "The only thing I have planned today is taking a nap during Math! Honest."  
  
She advanced on him, dangerous fire burning in her eyes. He'd pulled the innocent routine one too many times for her to believe him just like that.  
  
"Eep!" He jumped, swinging his hands around to guard his rear. "What the-?"  
  
He turned to find Hakuba Saguru behind them, with a bland expression on his face. "Something wrong?" The blond young man asked calmly. "You are blocking the pathway."  
  
Kaito gave him a suspicious look as the girls blinked in surprise. "Noo..." He drawled, stepping aside so that the British Detective could pass.   
  
"Thank you." Hakuba took a step forward and suddenly jumped, looking around with wide eyes.  
  
"Something wrong?" Keiko asked with too bright innocence.  
  
Hakuba looked outraged. "Someone GOOSED me!"   
  
"'Goosed' you?" Aoko echoed, confused.  
  
"Yes." At their blank looks at the term, he explained. "Geese are approximately this high-" He motioned just below hip level "So when they bite you.."  
  
"Oh!" The other three teenagers nodded, understanding dawning.  
  
"New word for the day. 'Goosed'." Kaito quipped. He then jumped again, swinging around wildly. "Dammit! I didn't need another demonstration of it!"  
  
"Then may I suggest we depart this general vicinity and determine if our classroom provides a safer refuge?" Hakuba asked, his eyes scanning the area for more attacks.  
  
Aoko and Keiko jumped again. "I don't know what he said, but lets go!" Keiko exclaimed, dragging Aoko along with her.   
  
Kaito just shook his head and followed, making a comment in passing about a 'Hakuba-to-Japanese translator'. Hakuba glared back as he followed as well muttering darkly about idiot thieves with no appreciation for the language.  
  
***  
  
The class was fidgety. No one was sitting still, constantly shifting around in their seats, on guard for the mysterious tiny hands that were pinching them. Even the teacher was looking nervous as she taught in the front of the classroom.  
  
Suspicion had been quickly cast upon the resident magician until it became obvious that he was the un-welcome target for the majority of the attacks. And was becoming increasingly paranoid about the whole thing, swearing that he could see something move out of the corner of his eye.  
  
Things quieted down for a little while after Aoko had stood up on her chair with a mop, threatening to smack the next thing to touch her so hard that they'd see Mars.  
  
Only to start up again about 15 minutes later, only this time running in patterns. The teacher was not amused to find the class doing a shrieking/jumping version of The Wave, students jumping up on their chairs to escape the pinches on their legs and various exposed extremities. The Teacher was even less amused when she involuntarily joined them.   
  
Suffice to say, not much learning was going on.  
  
"There it goes again!" Kaito hissed, glaring at something un-seen in the aisle between the desks.  
  
"There goes what?" Aoko crankily demanded back. She was getting tired of getting pinched so often, primarily due to the fact that she was sitting next to Kaito.  
  
"That... that... Green sparkly thingie!" He shot back. "I don't know what it is! I can see them out of the corner of my eye, but if I blink, they're gone!"  
  
Hakuba paused in mid-gesture, facts lining up in his head. "Repeat that." He demanded, turning to face the pair.   
  
"Huh?" Kaito looked up at him with a puzzled expression.  
  
"Repeat what you said." Hakuba insisted.  
  
"I can see little green human-looking things with gold sparkles running around out of the corner of my eye, but when I blink, they're gone." The Magician repeated hesitantly.  
  
Aoko blinked. "Little Green Men?"  
  
The British Detective opened his watch and glanced at it. "Ah-ha! I knew it!"  
  
"Knew what?" Aoko echoed, getting confused and not liking it.  
  
"The United Kingdom is 9 hours behind Tokyo time." Hakuba shut his watch with a satisfied grin. "All of our troubles should stop in about 3... 2... 1..."  
  
The School clock rang out, chiming 9 am.  
  
Some of the students of the far side of the room screeched and jumped. Kaito's head swung down the aisle "There it went again! Did you see it?!"  
  
"I didn't see anything." Aoko shook her head. "Are you feeling alright, Kaito?"  
  
"I'm fine." He grumbled. Hakuba looked thoughtful, puzzling facts in his head. The pieces fit... yet they didn't. There was only one way to test the theory.  
  
"I need a favour, Kuroba." He said seriously. Kaito, still scanning the room, looked up and blinked.   
  
"Huh?" Words processed and he gave the detective a suspicious look. "What -kind- of favour?"  
  
"I want you to dye my hair green." Hakuba deadpanned. "Again."  
  
Aoko blinked. That was un-Hakuba like. "Seriously?"  
  
"This is Hakuba." Kaito snorted. "He's always seriously serious. But still, are you serious?!"  
  
"Very." Hakuba nodded. "Any shade of green. Just so long as it's GREEN."  
  
They stared at him. Then things started to click in Kaito's brain. "Hold on..." He pulled out a flower, a white carnation this time instead of a rose. He tossed a handkerchief over it and pulled it off. It was now yellow. "No." He tried again. This time the flower was orange. "No." He tried again several times, turning the flower red, purple, white with blue polka dots and a strange type of plaid.  
  
"What ever you're planning on doing, I suggest you do it quickly." Hakuba commented. "They're starting the wave again."  
  
Aoko winced as the first row of classmates started to jump and scream.  
  
Kaito pulled the handkerchief off, the slightly tired looking flower a mellow mint green. "Got it!" He rapidly tucked it behind Aoko's ear. "Leave that there." He instructed, pulling a second handkerchief out of another pocket. This one was red, which was tied to a saffron one, which was tied to a periwinkle scarf, then a forest green one and a magenta one. He quickly untied the green one from the line of silky fabric.  
  
"Kuroba..." Hakuba warned, the second row of students hopping up out of their seats.   
  
"Almost there..." He tossed the scarf over Hakuba's head as the row of students in front of them began to yelp. He pulled it off with a magical 'bon!'  
  
Hakuba's skin was now bright lizard green, topped by his golden hair. Kaito blinked, shrugged and stuck a leaf on his head, much the way a Kitsune would.  
  
The students in the row with them began to jump and scream, but they remained untouched, much like an island of calm in a raging ocean of chaos. The trio stared at each other as the row behind them began to jump.   
  
Hakuba studied his green hands, an eyebrow rising. Kaito laughed nervously. "Heh... sorry about that. It should wash off by tomorrow morning."  
  
"It's better than getting pinched." Was all Hakuba had to say about it as the last row finished the screaming/jumping wave.  
  
Aoko looked at the other two boys in mild confusion. "Green?"  
  
***  
  
Akako quietly laughed to herself at the chaos around her as she played with the green charm bracelet around her wrist. It was so much fun to summon Leprechauns the day after St. Patrick's Day and let them have an extra day of excitement.  
  
-fin-  
Tokyo is 9 hours ahead of the UK, so 9am Tokyo would be Midnight in the UK, meaning that St. Patrick's Day is officially over.  
  
The joke is, if you don't wear green on St. Patrick's the Leprechauns'll pinch you. And if there's a lack of Leprechauns in the area, someone else will do. (I temporarily dyed my bangs green for it this year. ^_^ Still got pinched. P )  
  
For those un-familiar with St. Paddy's day, St. Patrick is the guy who brought Christianity to Ireland. There are many amusing stories about him, including how he drove snakes from the island with a drum. His day is celebrated on 17 March.  
  
More on St. Patrick:   
  
Leprechauns are little men, about 2 feet high dressed in 'shoemakers' clothes, who live in the hills and are very grumpy. If you manage to catch one, you can force them to tell you where they've hidden their gold. The trick is, if you look away from them, even for a second to blink, they'll disappear. They're very tricky.   
Of course, even if you get them to show you where their gold is, the trick is being able to find it later. ~_^  
  
More on Leprechauns:   
  
Mainly the holiday is used as an excuse to drink green beer, party, relax and have fun. Everyone is encouraged to be Irish for the day and join in. Understand they even dye a river in Boston green as part of the celebration... 


	15. 200 words exactly what's that called?

"Geh. I HATE this." Kaito sniffed, looking like he had just bitten into a lemon. "My head so stuffed up it feels like it's gonna explode."  
  
It was currently wintertime and everyone was suffering from the weather in one form or another. The magician just happened to be the more vocal of the group about it.  
  
"Oh, shut up." Saguru grumped as Kaito pulled a handkerchief out of a pocket. He wasn't used to the changes in climate yet, and was nursing a sense of self-righteous indignation as well as a bit of a head cold. The British Detective was currently NOT happy. "Your head is not going to ex-"  
  
:: BOOM! ::   
  
Saguru stared in mixed shock and horror at the pile of ash that grew from the smoke cloud where Kaito had been seconds before, looking about ready to faint.   
  
Aoko's reaction was to scan the area for her friend "Kaito?" She called nervously.  
  
Kaito poked his head out of a near by shrub, hair smoking and standing on end, his face covered in soot, looking much like he had just fought a twister and won. He beamed at them. "So THAT'S where I put my exploding handkerchief!"  
  
-fin-  
  
Sorry, allergies are messing with my head.   
  
If anyone has noticed that I appear to be posting a bit more than normal... well, you would be correct.   
Currently trying to clean out some of my backlog of un-posted stories because I'm leaving for a 2-week vacation in a couple of days. After I leave, there will be no new fics from us for a while.   
Sorry! 


	16. he missed

"Geh" Kaito growled to himself, shooting daggers at a teacher passing by. It was lunch time, and he, Aoko and Keiko had been sitting under a tree on school grounds, relaxing and eating lunch when Aoko, feeling that the British Detective must have been feeling lonely, invited him to join them. Akako had invited herself not long after, and they were all sitting around fairly amiliably, just eating and talking.  
  
Aoko snorted, looking vaguely amused. "Don't tell me you're still mad at him."  
  
Keiko blinked, looking much like a puzzled owl behind her glasses. "I think I missed this. What happened?"  
  
"Sensei-" Akako pointed to the passing teacher. "Claims that Kaito put salt in his coffee this morning."  
  
"I get blamed for EVERYTHING." Kaito grumbled. "Even the stuff I don't do."  
  
"It's your reputation." Keiko assured him. He shot her a slightly dour look.   
  
"It's not your fault Sensei misread the labels in the teachers room." Aoko assured her friend. "Besides, you were asleep at the time."  
  
"Rough night?" Saguru asked dryly. He certainly had the bags under his eyes to prove it.  
  
"Bad dreams." Kaito retorted. "You know the one where you're always getting chased?"  
  
"That sensei is always jumping to conclusions" Keiko mused thoughtfully. "Some of the students want to knock his toupee off."  
  
Kaito brightened. "Really?"  
  
"Kaito..." Aoko shot him a glare. "Behave." He shrugged, his expression fading into one of bored innocence.  
  
"Heh." Akako snickered. "With the cheap toupee tape he uses, a small hit would be enough to send it flying."  
  
"Kaito-kun's aim is good enough." Keiko commented.   
  
Saguru snorted disdainfully. "He couldn't hit the broad side of a barn."  
  
"Talking about yourself again?" Kaito drawled.  
  
"Ha."   
  
Kaito's grin turned mischievous. "Bet you couldn't do it."  
  
"Do what?" Saguru's eyebrow raised.  
  
Kaito mimicked a flicking motion with his spoon. "Knock his toupee off."  
  
"I could." Saguru defended himself. "I just fail to see the purpose in it."  
  
"To knock the toupee off, of course." Keiko said easily. Aoko sighed and shook her head as Akako snickered.  
  
Saguru looked dignified, holding up a fork laden with mash potatoes in mock demonstration. "I fail to see the purpose in the loading one's utensil up with food and flicking it like some sort of immature child-"  
  
:: flick ::   
  
His finger slipped and the mash potatoes on the fork went flying.  
  
Right towards the teacher.  
  
:: SPLAT! ::   
  
The group stared in shock as the splatter of mashed potatoes began to drip off the teachers face. Except for Hakuba who was staring at the spoon in his hand is if it were a bloody weapon a murder had just pressed into his hands before fleeing a particularly morbid crime scene.  
  
Saguru was the first to speak. "Oh... bugger."  
  
"You know, I looked up what that means." Kaito commented conversationally. "Are you sure you want to be saying that?"   
  
Aoko glared and whapped him upside the head. He mock-grimaced and rubbed his head where she had hit him.  
  
"Really?" Keiko asked, taking the distraction. "What does it mean?"  
  
"It means that he's got a potty mouth." Kaito said promptly.  
  
"I always thought it had something to do with insects." Keiko mused.  
  
"Sensei's coming this way." Aoko commented, looking nervous. Saguru made a choked squeaking sound.  
  
Akako chuckled. "It means he's screwed, Keiko-chan."  
  
Kaito nodded vigorously. "That's one way of putting it." He agreed.  
  
"Huh." Akako made a bored sound. "Sensei doesn't look happy." Saguru whimpered.  
  
"Translation?" Keiko pressed.   
  
The teacher clearing his throat behind them cut off the explanation. "AHEM."  
  
They looked up. "Kuroba-kun..." The teacher glared down at the magician, mashed potatoes dripping off his nose. "You wouldn't happen to have done this, would you?" It was not a question.  
  
Saguru paled, slowly dropping his fork back into his bento box. Kaito looked up, radiating innocence. "No sir, I did not." He replied bluntly.  
  
"He didn't." Aoko backed him up. The British detective stared at her with wide amber eyes. The teacher blinked, surprised as well. Aoko was not known for hiding her friends mischievous pranks, especially from teachers.   
  
Akako held a hand out, looking up as if checking for rain. "Maybe it was a bird." Saguru twitched.  
  
Kaito made a production of patting himself down and checking his pockets. "Mine are all present and accounted for."  
  
"Birds do not..." Sensei trailed off, noticing Saguru was the only one eating mashed potatoes out of the group. And there was no way the proper and polite British Detective would ever do something so blasé. "Hn." With a final glare, he turned and stalked off, muttering dark things under his breath.  
  
Saguru looked like he was about to faint at any second, a white knuckled grip on his fork.  
  
"So what does it really mean?!" Keiko prodded Kaito.  
  
Kaito ignored the question as he turned towards Saguru, an evil grin lighting up his features.   
  
"You missed."  
  
-fin-  
  
-and that's it from us for a while. We're off ta Tokyo! 


	17. clean up on aisle 1 please, clean up on ...

***  
  
"I'm telling you, the kid's gonna barf."  
  
"No, he is not."  
  
"Sure he is. Look at him. He can't even walk straight."  
  
"He is also green in the face, just as he was when we saw him get off the Tilt-a-Whirl. He did not throw-up then, nor after the Carousal or the past 2 Roller Coasters. The boy has a stomach of cast iron. He is not going to do it."  
  
"Sure he is. Lookit, he's going for the trash can now."  
  
"I beg to differ."  
  
"Care to place a wager?"  
  
"I do not wager money with scoundrels."  
  
"Who said it had to be money?"  
  
"What are you thinking?"  
  
"If he upchucks into that trash can, you give a flower to a girl of my choosing. If he doesn't, I give a flower to someone of your choosing. So at least -someone- wins out of it."   
  
"If you recite a poem too, we have a deal."   
  
"Who said I was going to lose? And you're on."  
  
"Heh. Cannot wait to see the gentleman's face you give that to."  
  
"You implying something?"  
  
"Not a thing. Quiet, he is passing the trashcan now."  
  
"Heh. Prepare to lose."  
  
"No funny business of yours."  
  
"None needed- Oh! Ewww... there he went!"  
  
"And again... my word... how much junk food can his stomach contain?!"  
  
"Well, it's not anymore, that's for sure. Jeez..."  
  
"Remind me the next time I wager with you not to bet on something so revolting."  
  
"Blegh... agreed."  
  
"Sigh... time to pay the piper, I suppose."  
  
"Yup! Here's a flower and I pick... That girl over there. The one with the ribbon around her ponytail. She looks familiar for some reason..."  
  
"I suppose you could have chosen worse. Alright... here I go."  
  
"That's the spirit. Couldn't hurt you to socialise more anyway. And you have to make up the poem, not just recite something from Shakespeare or one of your English poets."  
  
"Grrr..."  
  
Hakuba got down on one knee in front of the pony tailed girl and began to recite a quick poem. "Roses are red, Violets are blue, I lost a bet, so this is for you."  
  
Kaito quietly snickered to himself in the background.  
  
Kazuha raised an eyebrow at the kneeling British Detective before her and sweatdropped.  
  
-fin-  
  
Yes, the people talking are Kaito and Hakuba, Hakuba lost the bet.  
  
Okay, to explain this randomness, there is a picture in the Conan Digest #20 of Hakuba on one knee, offering a flower to a sweatdropping Kazuha. This is right next to a picture of a blushing Kazuha standing next to a clueless Heiji.   
  
It was just too bizarre NOT to write a fic for.   
  
Tho I have no idea why they Voices had them betting about an up-chucking child at an Amusement Park, it just made sense at the time. ^^;;  
  
For those who belong to OOT ML, will be posting the pic (and this fic) as soon as we get home tonight. Hee.  
  
Japan was lots of fun, if you go to my site (mischif.net) I'm currently working on scanning over half a sketchbook of all the sketches I did of random and strange stuff there. (since ff.net won't let me put URLS here. Sorry, didn't realise that before) 


	18. Lookie! Fishie!

"Look at the fishie!"  
  
"Nooo... don't wanna lookit the fishie."  
  
The class was at a field trip to one of the local aquariums. Aoko was having a marvellous time, being in one of the very few places she had the upper hand around Kaito.  
  
"Look at the fishie! Pretty fishie!"  
  
"Nooo... don't wanna look at the fishie."  
  
Kaito, after the incident at the shark tank and feeding time at the seal pool, had decided to go through the rest of the trip being dragged around by Aoko with his eyes closed. He'd reached his limit with fish.  
  
"I'm waiting for him to walk into a wall."  
  
"Can I take a picture if he does?"  
  
Saguru and Akako were tagging along for amusement factor. It wasn't every day that the energetic magician was stripped of his bravado.  
  
"Oooo... Kaito! You've got to see these!"  
  
"Nooo... don't wanna see the fishie."  
  
She stopped in front of a large round tank, in which what appeared to be large pieces of kelp floated.  
  
"They do remind you of somebody, don't they? The way they just blend in with their surroundings..."  
  
"If he doesn't look, can I pinch him?"  
  
Kaito wrinkled his nose in the general direction of Saguru and Akako's voices. He currently wasn't seeing anything, but that didn't effect his hearing.  
  
"They're not fishies, Kaito."  
  
"That's what you said about the sharks. And they're BIG fishies."  
  
Akako walked up behind Kaito.  
  
"Look at the fishies, Kaito."  
  
"Noo... Don't wanna- YIPE!"  
  
Kaito jumped as he was suddenly pinched, his eyes flying open to stare at the tank in front of them. He blinked once, then twice, and grinned.  
  
"Ohhh... Sea Dragons. Neat!"  
  
-Fin-  
  
Sorry, was at the Aquarium of the Pacific today and was enamoured by the Sea Dragons. ^^;; They look kind of like Sea Horses, only longer and more plant-like and blend in really well with the sea weed. Little miniature leafy dragons... *grins* And was one of the few tanks without any fish in it.   
(unless you count the jellyfish exhibit, but that caused Slayers flashbacks... Hellooo, Gourry's cousins!)  
  
Note: Not really sure if Kaito is afraid of sharks. He does see one and freak when he's scuba-diving at the end of book one, but that's in the middle of a fishie-induced panic attack and the shark does appear to be interested in having him for a snack.  
  
Other note: Shin'ichi/Conan's birthday is 4 May. Anybody else gonna draw a pic or write a fic for his birthday? ^_^ 


	19. Hoppy Easter!

Thanks to Hauntress for catching errors!  
  
*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Kaito stared.  
  
Hakuba did his best to ignore the violet gaze on him as he focused his attention on the book in front of him.  
  
Aoko rolled her eyes, shook her head and wondered what insanity was going to come out of it -this- time. If the 2 boys weren't having a clash of will over the Kaitou Kid, it was over something else. Kaito usually won, but she had to admire Hakuba for his sheer tenacity . He'd yet to give up, even when the odds were against him.  
  
Kaito continued staring, leaning forward slightly, his eyes never leaving the blonde detective.  
  
Hakuba turned a page.  
  
It was spring time, Aoko realised, doing a quick mental calculation. Kaito usually did a themed prank about this time of year.  
  
Kaito's eyes narrowed.  
  
A small bead of sweat began to trickle down the back of Hakuba's neck.  
  
Last year he had somehow managed to convince everyone in the class to have a mini-race, rolling dyed eggs down a hill in the park. It had been a lot of fun, and several elementary school kids hand joined in, adding to the fun.  
  
Kaito made a thoughtful sound.  
  
Hakuba shifted slightly in his seat.  
  
The year before that had been the colourful egg hunt in the classroom, plastic eggs filled with small candies. Of course, the trick had been finding the egg with your name on it before it exploded in a cloud of confetti and sparkles.  
  
Kaito scrunched up his face, looking like he was trying to pull something from the detective's brain through telepathy.  
  
Hakuba shut his book. "Can I help you?" He asked in brisk tones.  
  
Her best friend straightened, his face relaxing into a not-quite smile. "You're from Britain, right?"  
  
"Yes." The blond managed to make the simple answer sound like he was having teeth pulled.  
  
Kaito grinned. "You celebrate Easter then, right?"  
  
A suspicious look flitted over Hakuba's face and Aoko -knew- that something was about to happen. "Yes..."   
  
"Great!" With that, Kaito -bounced- out of his seat, towards Hakuba. Hakuba had just enough time to flinch backwards before he was engulfed in a cloud of pink smoke.  
  
The cloud dissipated within seconds, leaving Aoko with her jaw dropping.  
  
Pink bows.  
  
Pastel coloured basket.  
  
Bunny Ears.  
  
"Who wants their picture taken with the Easter Bunny?!" Kaito crowed.  
  
Hakuba, white rabbit ears crowning his blond hair, a pink bow around his neck and holding a basket of colourful eggs in his lap, twitched.   
  
Immediately, the majority of the girls in the class swarmed around him, cooing over how cute he was while Kaito grinned and snapped pictures.  
  
Aoko wasn't sure if she should laugh, feel sorry for Hakuba who was completely out of his league, or try to get one of the candy eggs for herself.  
  
Meanwhile, in the background Akako pouted. "That's not how you make a bunny."  
  
-fin-  
  
Happy Easter everyone!  
  
The Akako/Bunny joke shows up prominently in the third part of 'Night Dreams' (it got so big we had to split it into 3 parts instead of 2).   
The second part was just finished last night (early this morning?) and will be out in a day or two, as soon as it gets double-checked. ^_^ 


	20. Hi, Mom!

This is actually the second version of this fic. The first one was okay, it was cute and what not, but it just wasn't... funny enough. So we re-wrote it from scratch and am much happier with it. ^^;;  
  
******  
  
Hakuba checked his pocketwatch and raised an eyebrow at the policemen staring at the elevator door. There was only one way in or out of the room they were currently in, and that was via the elevator on the far wall. According to their calculations, the Kid was due 3 minutes ago and the wait was making them jumpy.  
  
According to his calculations however, taking into effect the fact that the trains usually ran late and he knew for a fact that a certain class clowns wrist watch ran a minute and 14 seconds behind, the Kid wasn't due for another 37 seconds. He failed to see what they were so nervous about.   
  
On the other hand, it was somewhat amusing watching men over twice his age jumping at the slightest sound, like they were expecting the Boogie Man to jump out and grab them. Even Nakamori-keibu was starting to grind his teeth together.   
  
29 seconds.  
  
The insistent sound of a cell phone ringing made everyone jump. People automatically reached down to where ever their phones were usually stored.  
  
"Moshi Moshi?"  
  
The winner of the great ringing cell phone contest answered. People looked around in confusion as they realised that no one on the floor had the phone.  
  
Hakuba looked up. There, clinging to the white ceiling like a gecko above the jewel they were supposed to be guarding with large suction cups on the inside of his knees and elbows, was the Kaitou Kid. Answering his cell phone.   
  
He looked down (up?) at them with a near apologetic look. "Uh.. I'm kind of in the middle of something."  
  
"GET HIM!!!" Nakamori howled as if he was un-leashing the hounds of hell themselves.   
  
There was a brief scramble as everyone attempted to do so. Hakuba sweatdropped. It would take 2 men standing on each other's shoulders to touch the ceiling, and while a dog pile might work, it wasn't going to be of much help if the Kid moved. Which he undoubtedly would.  
  
"No, I can't write it down right now..." The Kid seemed to ignore the crowd below him as he un-stuck himself from the ceiling and landed on the pedestal holding the gem. "Just tell me and I'll remember."   
  
Hakuba realised he was the closest one to the Kid and reached out to grab him. The Kid blinked, looking past him with wide-eyes and pointed.   
  
He turned to look.   
  
And promptly cursed himself for a fool as he found himself out of the game early, tied up in ropes with a handkerchief around his mouth.  
  
The Kid flashed him a wink and grabbed the jewel in his phone-free hand. Nakamori let out a sound like an enraged bull and charged at them, several men following. The Kid let out an 'Eep!' and jumped off the taller pedestal, flipping over their heads.  
  
Hakuba wiggled, straining to get out of the ropes, watching as the Kid made his way to the elevator door, dodging flying policemen as he continued to talk on the cellphone.  
  
"Potatoes-" Mid-air splits as 2 policemen collided face to face below him. "-Carrots-" A spin and duck past another officer "-Onion-" A flip over a couple more officers "-and Chicken..."   
  
If the Kuroba family wasn't having curry for dinner that night, Hakuba reflected dryly, he would eat his deerstalker hat. With horseradish sauce.  
  
The Kid paused as he realised that he was now half way between the pedestal and the elevator, and now completely surrounded by police officers. He did a quick double take then lifted the phone again. "Hold on for a second, I need my hands."  
  
With that scant warning, he popped the jewel in his mouth, grabbed the phone with his teeth and jumped, using an officers head for a spring board back up to the ceiling, much like a startled squirrel avoiding a predator would.  
  
"Get that out of your mouth!" Nakamori cursed, still following him. "You don't know where it's been!"  
  
... Typical Parent, Hakuba noted as he got an arm free of the ropes.  
  
Safe on the ceiling once more, the Kid spat out both the gem and the phone into his hand. "Can I pick up Ice cream?" The Kid asked eagerly, taunted the Inspector by waving the sparkling stone at him before making it disappear.   
  
Nakamori growled. The Kid shrugged, then pulled the phone away for a moment to address the Inspector "Oi! Anything you need at the market while I'm there?"  
  
The Inspector informed him just where he could shove several different kinds of vegetables. The Kid flinched and held the phone up to his ear again as he slithered his way across the ceiling. "Uh, can we take carrots off the list? ...No, that wasn't me."  
  
Pause.  
  
"That was Nakamori!"  
  
Slight pause. "No, wrong Nakamori. I don't think you're allowed to wash Nakamori-keibu's mouth out with soap, he's bigger than you are."  
  
The inspector turned a darker shade of red. Hakuba hid a grin. It was rather amusing, really.  
  
"Fine. You can hold him down, -I'll- wash his mouth out with soap. And everyone can watch."  
  
There was a faint cheer from some of the men.  
  
"The Elevator, you idiots!" Nakamori roared. "Block the elevator!"  
  
Too late, Hakuba commented to himself as he wrestled free from the last of the ropes. The Kid, even when slowed down by the cellphone and the suction cups, was still ungodly fast.   
  
Right on cue, the elevator doors opened with a 'Ping'.  
  
The Kid flipped off the ceiling, landing inside the open elevator. He grinned at them, hitting the 'close door' button.   
  
"Mom says Hello!" He cheered.  
  
"Hi, Mom!" A couple of people tiredly called back.   
  
The doors pinged shut.  
  
Hakuba shook his head, checking his watch. The entire incident, from phone ringing to the escape, had taken under 90 seconds. And not only had the Kid escaped again, for he doubted they would be able to track him down once he got into the ventilation systems, and gotten the jewel, but he had taken down a grocery list as well.   
  
A doleful voice spoke up from somewhere underneath the dogpile. "Can we get ice cream too?"  
  
-fin-  
  
Poor Hakuba, falling for the old 'Look! What's that?!' ploy... Ah, well. Turn about is fair play, he's usually the one trying to jump the Kid to get handcuffs on him. *snickers* 


	21. Peeps!

Kaito smelled trouble.  
  
He also smelled the distinctive scent of a certain sugary confection being burnt, which equalled about the same thing.  
  
A feeling of dread coiled in his stomach, he quickly but thoroughly searched the school from top to bottom, following his nose and the increasing sense of impending doom.   
  
It lead him outside, to where a small group of people were crouched down around something, high-pitched noises and laughter coming from them.   
  
"Aoko!" Sheer terror made him put on his sternest face. "I thought you SWORE you weren't going to do that any more after you made corrosive acid out of house hold materials!!"  
  
3 pairs of gleaming maniacal eyes looked up at him and he sweatdropped, taking a step back.   
  
Hakuba, Akako and Aoko.   
  
Nearly covered with white globs with un-naturally patches of sparkling pink, yellow, purple and blue in them. Especially around their faces.  
  
"I said I wouldn't do it anymore in the microwave!" Aoko protested, hugging a cellophane wrapped box to her chest.  
  
"Yup!" Hakuba giggled and nearly fell over as he waved a mass of molten blue goo in a paper towel at the longhaired sorceress. "She -hee! She's got fire spells!"  
  
Kaito winced. Hakuba giggling was not a sound that he had ever expected to hear. Ever. Nor did he wish to again.  
  
"Ooo... Fire pretty...." Akako cooed in a sing-song voice as she stared at the ball of fire that was cupped in one hand as she held a small neon pink bird over the flames with a pair of chopsticks.   
  
They all watched with morbid fascination as the bird twitched, its brown chocolaty eyes bulging out as it's head started to expand, then get absorbed by the wiggling growing mass of its body. Akako removed it from the flames, grinning manically as she waited a moment for it to cool; them popped it in her mouth and chewed with obvious relish, ignoring the sticky residue on the chopsticks and her fingers. "Hee-hee!" She warbled. "Bai bai birdie..."  
  
"Okay, that's it..." Kaito marched in, grabbed the box that Aoko was hoarding and held it above his head. "No more roasting Marshmallow Peeps for you!"  
  
"Awwww..."  
  
-fin-  
  
For those of you un-familiar with Marshmallow Peeps, they're marshmallow shaped bunnies and chicks covered with brightly coloured sugar, usually sold around Easter time. Near instant sugar high.  
  
If you're insane (hello!) one of the fun things to do with them (besides dress them up and have them re-enact the Lord of the Rings books, see LordofthePeeps dot com) is stick them in a microwave and watch them balloon up then melt into little writhing puddles of peep-goo. They're pretty tasty afterwards, kind of crunchy from the hardened sugar.   
  
Of course if you don't mind cleaning up the mess afterwards, if you leave them in the microwave for too long, they go BOOM!   
  
...muwahahahahahahahahaha... 


	22. GNEEEEEEE!

Can't believe how many people commented on the Peeps, both off and on ff.net. ^___^ Seems like everyone had a fun story to share! Many thanks! *Bounces*  
  
***  
  
"Nice uh..." Akako raised an eyebrow as she looked the tall teen up and down "...coat, Hakuba-kun."  
  
"Thank you." Hakuba said with a great deal of dignity as the wind caught his deerstalker, causing it to billow out around him. "I was running late this morning and couldn't find my normal one."  
  
"You were up late studying how to catch the Kid, weren't you?" Aoko sighed. Kaito snickered from beside her.  
  
"Yes." Hakuba admitted, casting a glare towards the magician who was calmly walking behind him. Kaito just grinned back. After all, it wasn't HIS fault that the British Detective was so obsessed with capturing the Phantom Thief.  
  
The wind howled past them again, causing them to huddle into their jackets a bit. The winds were strong today and everyone was grateful for the warmth of their coats.   
  
"It flares out rather dramatically." Akako noted, walking along Kaito's other side.   
  
"He does have an overblown sense of dramatics, yes." Kaito agreed. "And with the winds today, I won't even have to flip Aoko's skirt, it'll do it for me."  
  
"Hey!" Aoko glared as he chuckled. "That's it, you're not walking behind me today!" He grinned and didn't point out that he usually walked -beside- her.  
  
"Hmmm..." Akako made a thoughtful sound, pressing a finger tip against her lips as she watched Hakuba walk several metres in front of him.   
  
Kaito raised a suspicious eyebrow. "You're not thinking what I think you're thinking... are you?"   
  
She grinned.   
  
"Uh-oh."  
  
"What?" Aoko asked.   
  
"Don't do it." Kaito advised.  
  
"Yes, but he has the most lovely reactions." She sighed lustfully. She paused a moment before raising an eyebrow in Kaito's direction. "Of course, if someone -else- did it, he'd probably keel over in shock."  
  
Aoko looked confused. "Do what?"  
  
Kaito raised an eyebrow, walking along in silence for a moment. Aoko looked between the two of them, her confusion growing. She could sense trouble brewing, she just knew it. "Do WHAT?"  
  
"... Only because you pinch." Kaito finally decided.   
  
Akako smirked. "Lesser of two evils?"   
  
"Exactly."  
  
"Kaito?" Aoko looked wary as a slow maniacal grin grew across Kaito's face, and he bounced on the balls of his feet a few times, as if doing a little streaching before a race. He charged towards the detective. "KAITO!"  
  
:: FLIP! :: Up went the trench coat.  
  
"GNEEEEEEEEEeee!!!" Hakuba made the most interesting sound as he jumped, his spine going rigid in shock.   
  
Akako howled with laughter as Kaito took off like a shot, pelting towards the school.  
  
"KAITOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" Aoko bellowed, a mop suddenly appearing in her hand as she chased after.   
  
Hakuba put an arm out in front of her, stopping her charge. "Allow me." He said politely, taking the mop from her hands and handing her his book bag.  
  
"KUROBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!" Mop raised above his head like a spear, Hakuba took off after the laughing thief as if he were a knight in shining armour chasing after a rouge.  
  
Aoko blinked, surprised for a moment, then took off after them, waving both book bags. "GET HIM, HAKUBA-KUN!" She cheered.  
  
Akako followed at a more sedate pace, laughing her head off.  
  
-fin-  
  
Written while wandering around running errands in the rain. Was most amusing watching the water evaporate off the street in huge billowing clouds of steam faster than it came down. (yes, it does occasionally rain in LA)  
  
*  
  
Question for people:  
We just got a new Livejournal that is currently being used as a ficblog, meaning that we have been more productive lately with fics, boosting our backlog of un-posted fics to about 15 stories. And with this story, 'Crazy Aunty Icka's Slightly Strange Short Stories' is now up to 22 fics.  
  
Thinking this could get a bit cumbersome very quickly, and very daunting to any new readers, who don't get it as a new story every few days, but as a massive pile of ficcage.   
  
So what would be easier for you guys as readers? Create a new 'Slightly Strange Short Stories' title on ff.net once we reach a certain point, like 25 or 30 fics? Or simply continue posting them under this name?   
Any suggestions would be most welcome!  
  
Thanks! 


	23. For Yukiko Happy Mother's Day

Shin'ichi POV  
  
***  
  
My Father taught me how to drive.  
My Mother taught me how to drive FAST.  
  
My Father taught me deductive reasoning and logic.  
My Mother taught me that those don't always apply.  
  
My Father taught me to be subtle.  
My Mother taught me to make a dramatic entrance.  
  
My Father taught me how to focus and study hard.  
My Mother taught me to relax and party.  
  
My Father taught me to look at the world.  
My Mother taught me that appearances are deceiving.  
  
My Father taught me to depend on myself.  
My Mother taught me to rely on my friends.  
  
My Father taught me to follow reasoning.  
My Mother taught me to follow my hunches.  
  
My Father taught me the rules.  
My Mother taught me how to break them and not get caught.  
  
My Father taught me Order.  
My Mother taught me Chaos.   
  
I'd like to thank my Mother for teaching me everything that she has. If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't be the well-rounded sane person that I am today.  
  
... I think ...   
  
-fin-  
  
Happy Mother's Day to all you Mothers out there! ^_^ 


	24. Side Bets

***  
  
Kaito's stomach growled as the class rose to escape to freedom, other wise known as the end of the school day.  
  
Aoko giggled at him. "You want to stop for ice cream on the way home?" She offered.  
  
"Naw, I'll just grab something when I get home." He waved it off. "Kind of low on funds at the moment." The Kaitou Kid's tricks and traps were cool, but they did cause a bit of a drain on his wallet.   
  
"Funds?" Keiko echoed for a moment before her face lit up in a bright expression. "Oh! I nearly forgot! Koizumi-chan, Hakuba-kun, please wait here a minute!"  
  
Akako and Saguru, who were almost out the door, blinked in surprise, but did as requested as the pigtailed girl rummaged through her bookbag. "I know they're here somewhere..." She mumbled to herself. "Oh, here they are!" She pulled out 4 envelopes, each with a slightly different colour pattern print on them.   
  
She turned and passed them out to the other 4 teens. "Here you go, it's your share."  
  
"Share?" Hakuba ventured, looking at his off-white envelope quizzically.  
  
"Yeah!" Keiko beamed.   
  
Aoko pulled several bills out of the pale blue envelope she was holding. "Keiko-chan, what's this for?"  
  
"It's your share from the betting pool." Keiko explained, holding up a book.   
  
Akako's eyebrow rose as she looked in her rose-coloured envelope. "Betting pool?"  
  
"Yup! I split what's left of the profits and put it in the envelopes. It's all written down right here, if you want to check that you're getting your share. I'm just sorry I forgot to give them to you sooner!"   
  
"...What kind of bets?" Hakuba questioned.  
  
"That would be telling." Keiko grinned, giving him a wink. "If you knew, you might change your pattern of behaviour, and then what would the class have to bet on for fun?" She laughed, dancing out the door. "Bai!"  
  
"Did any of you know about this?" Akako asked, looking down at the money as if she wasn't quite sure if it was solid or not.  
  
"Um... I did, a little bit." Aoko admitted. "I've been in the betting pool before on what kind of animal you were going to turn Hakuba-kun into. But I didn't know that there were any with Kaito or me!"  
  
Akako and Hakuba looked a little startled at the reference to Akako's occasional habit of accidentally turning the English detective into various small animals when irked. She was usually aiming a Kaito when it occurred.   
  
"I'm not sure if I should be pleased or outraged." Hakuba commented. On one hand, people were betting on him behind his back. On the other hand, he was getting a share of it. And from the looks of it, a pretty fair share as well.  
  
Akako raised an eyebrow at the blue-eyed girl. "Your friend is a bookie." She deadpanned.  
  
Aoko laughed nervously and sweatdropped.  
  
"Kuroba?" Hakuba prodded the wild-haired boy, who was staring at the grey envelope he was holding in wide-eyed silent shock. "Kuroba? What do you think of all this?"  
  
Kaito slowly shook himself out of the shocked stupor, and looked stupidly at the others. They looked back at him, hedging backwards a bit, just in case of an impeding explosion. No one was really ever sure just what was swirling around in that brain of his.  
  
The magician suddenly bounced, all hyperactive smiles again. "Who wants ice cream?!"  
  
-fin-  
  
Yes, the envelope colours are their names once again. Seemed easier than writing their names on it.  
  
While working on a random fic about the class putting on a play a while back, Keiko started taking bets over just who was going to kiss Princess Kaito: Aoko or Akako.   
  
And somehow, it evolved into a sort of a constant mental background joke when ever Aoko started chasing Kaito, or Hakuba and Kaito started pranking each other, that Keiko was there the background taking bets on who was going to win -this- time.   
Sort of like a cheerful pig-tailed version of Tendo Nabiki from Ranma1/2. ^^;;   
  
For those wanting to know about the new LJ, it's under /~ickaimp/ 


	25. This is what happens when classrooms col...

Good luck to everyone currently studying for finals!  
  
***  
  
"There is something that has been puzzling me." Hakuba mused as Kuroba and Aoko did their acrobatic ballet around the classroom with a mop and a card gun.   
  
Akako raised an inquiring eyebrow. "Ho?"  
  
"Why do they not get into trouble for this?" He motioned to the pair as Kuroba literally bounced off a wall, leap-frogged off a student and continued across the room, Aoko's mop deftly avoiding missing people and desks. "At any other learning institution, they would be sent to the principals office or expelled for unruly behaviour."  
  
"Oh, that's right." Akako blinked. "You haven't been here long, have you?"  
  
"... Not too long..."  
  
The door to the classroom suddenly slid open, a screaming reptilian frog that was taller than he was ran in, waving his arms in circles. "I WANNA GO TO SCHOOL TOO, MERO!"   
  
Hakuba stared. He'd never known that frogs could talk.  
  
The door barely had time to shut when a short spiky haired boy ran in waving a sword. "Shounosuke!!!! You're not supposed to be here! Go home!"  
  
He chased after the running frog, which was somehow getting in the middle of The Swinging Mop Dance of Kaito and Aoko without actually getting hit. The boy jumped in as well, swinging his sword around causing the magician to do extra flips and Aoko to duck.   
  
"YAAAAIIIIBBBBAAAAA!!!!" The door opened a third time and a girl riding on the back of a roly-poly tiger waving an umbrella charged in. "How many times do I have to tell you not to sword fight in the halls?!"  
  
"Shounosuke started it!" The spiky haired boy shouted back, not the least bit disturbed.  
  
Hakuba's eyes grew about the size of dinner plates.   
  
A few students ducked or moved to the side to avoid the madcap scramble, but otherwise no one really seemed to notice.  
  
"Hi, Sayaka-chan!" Aoko chirped, ducking a sword swing and thrusting her mop at Kuroba, who flipped over the frog, using him as a shield. "How's it going?"  
  
"The usual." The pony-tailed girl sighed as the tiger made an impressive sounding roar. "You?"  
  
"Not too bad." Aoko replied.   
  
"WAAAAAAAAUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!" The frog took off running, still waving his arms around in little circles.  
  
"Shounosuke!!!" Yaiba took off after the frog. "Kagetora! After him!"  
  
"Mrrrow!" The tiger followed the short boy out the door, back into the hallway.   
  
"See you later, Aoko-chan!" Sayaka waved.  
  
"Bai!" Aoko spared a wave back before charging at Kuroba again. Kuroba returned to bouncing off the walls instead of behind people.  
  
And once again, things were back to normal.   
  
Or what could be considered normal for their classroom.  
  
Hakuba continued to stare at where the mad dance had taken place a moment before. It took a minute before he swallowed, pulled his jaw up from the ground and blinked, his eyes returning to their normal size.  
  
"So in comparison, they're..."  
  
"Mild, yes." Akako nodded.   
  
One of Hakuba's eyebrows rose. "I was going to say lacking in claws, fangs, swords and other sharp pointy objects..."  
  
-fin-  
  
Sorry, this is the result of finding out that the school that cast of Magic Kaitou go to is the exact same one the Yabia cast goes to. Expect more strange crossovers between the two. (Especially once we get our manga back! *growls*)  
  
Sayaka is the pony-tailed girl that follows Yaiba around, Kagetora is the tiger and Shounosuke the Frog Deamon is rapidly becoming one of my favourite characters of the series, mero. If they don't eat him first. ^__^ 


	26. And now for something completely random

Heya! Sorry for not posting in a while. My Supervisor is on vacation, meaning I'm Supervisor for our department, and kinda currently lacking the energy/gumption to do much of anything creative. ^^;; Sorry.  
  
So while we try to get back to fic writing, here's something completely random.  
  
***  
  
**Magic Kaitou Cast as 'Wizard of Oz'**  
  
**Aoko as 'Dorothy'**  
Kaito: Since when does Dorothy have a mop?"  
Aoko: Since I said so! *waves it threateningly*  
Kaito: Fair enough."  
  
**A Trout as 'Toto'**  
Aoko: Sic him Toto!!!  
*tosses the fish at Kaito*  
Kaito: Waauuugghhhh!!!  
  
**Kaito as 'The Scarecrow'**  
Aoko: C'mon! Sing it! You know you want to!  
Kaito: No. I'm not singing 'If I only had a brain"!  
Hakuba: Pity. It fits so well.  
  
**Hakuba as 'The Tin Woodsman'**  
Kaito: You were saying about 'fitting so well', Tin man?  
Hakuba: Your insults cannot penetrate my invincible armour!  
Kaito: Riiiight... Now, about that rusted steel trap you call a mind...  
  
**Keiko as 'The Cowardly Lion'.**  
Keiko: I don't wanna do this! I'm scared!  
Aoko: Don't worry about it! The fic writers are nearly as bad as some of the rumours say.  
  
**Nakamori as 'The Guard in the Gate'**  
Aoko: Dad?! What are you doing here?!  
Nakamori: As a policeman, it's my job to protect things.  
Kaito: Better him than some others that I could think of...  
  
**Jii as 'The Wizard of Oz'**  
Jii: Do not look behind the curtain!  
Kaito: Hi, Jii.  
Jii: Dangit.  
  
**Akako's Butler as 'The Flattened Wicked Witch of the East'**  
Kaito: Why is he wearing sparkling women's shoes?  
Hakuba: I don't want to think about.  
Aoko: I'm NOT wearing those! Ew!  
  
**Akako as 'The Wicked Witch of the West'**  
Akako: Doesn't this count as stereotype casting? I'm actually a nice person.  
Aoko: I know, but you already had the wardrobe for it.  
Akako: That's true...  
  
**Kaito's Mom as 'Glinda the Good'**  
Kaito: Hi, Mom. Nice dress. Very sparkly and poofy.  
Mom: Thanks Honey. But we're still having fish for dinner.  
Aoko: I've got the fish!!!  
  



	27. Sun is shining, the weather is sweet and...

Thursday... one more day to Friday... *falls over*  
  
Kosagi No Legion: The thought that they were going to eat Toto never once crossed our mind. o_O I had to pick myself off the floor about 3 times because we were laughing so hard. ^^;; Thank you!!!  
  
Lime-chan: We're thinking about 30 fics, and we'll start a new one. This makes 27 fics under this title, so prolly in the next week or so. No worries, we'll make sure it's clearly labeled and all that. ^_^  
  
Always forget why we're off to see the wizard too... *chuckles*  
  
***  
  
It was horrible.  
  
Hideous.  
  
Aoko had never seen such a garish collection of clashing colours and shapes before.   
  
It was making her queasy just looking at it. The temptation was great to simply attempt to stab her eyes out with her eraser.  
  
She knew better than to ask 'why' however. Asking 'Why' brought around evil smirking grins and questions about sanity. 'What' and 'How' brought around similar responses. Actually, 'How' simply made her head hurt and she'd long ago given up trying to solve that one, having long ago realised that it was easier just to sweatdrop and nod.  
  
Which left one relatively safe question she could ask.  
  
"Where the heck did you find such a terrible Hawaiian print shirt?!"  
  
Kaito, dressed in the hideously tacky Hawaiian shirt over a sleeveless muscle shirt, Bermuda shorts, and flip flops lifted the sun glasses from his face from his place on a beach chair in front of the classroom heater. Plastic Palm trees, a painted canvas ocean scene, beach towels, a cooler and a few beach balls completed the image. "Aoko!" He beamed. "Wanna lei?"  
  
The question was just enough to throw her off guard long enough for him to toss a necklace of flowers around her neck. Roses, she noted. Trust Kaito to put his own spin on things. She raised an eyebrow. "You do realise that it's pouring rain outside, don't you?"  
  
He just grinned, motioning to an empty beach chair next to him. "Care to join me? I can have you changed in a second."  
  
"Pass."   
  
Hakuba and Akako paused behind her. "Do we really want to know?"   
  
Aoko's response was immediate. "No."  
  
The rest of the class seemed to find it amusing, and cast several looks in their direction, giggling. The sound of steel drums whispered out from behind the palm trees, adding to the tropical atmosphere.  
  
"Is that a pina colada?!" Akako inquired, pointing to the coconut with the paper umbrella he held in his hand.   
  
He beamed. "Yup!"  
  
"Ooo!" Her face lit up. One brief billow of smoke accompanied by the sound of a thunder clap later, she was reclining on the beach chair next to Kaito dressed in a tight black form fitting one piece bathing suit.   
  
Kaito didn't blink, just simply passed her a coconut of her own from the cooler.   
  
"Oh, dear." Hakuba rubbed his forehead like he had the start of a headache as he turned and headed towards his desk. "He's contagious."  
  
"No, I think the weather has just gotten to him." Aoko insisted as she followed him, the lei of roses still around her neck.  
  
Kaito simply grinned, settling back in his chair to wait for the bell to ring before returning to his seat. He still had a few minutes after all.   
  
"How long did it take for you to set this up?" Akako inquired softly, sipping her drink through the straw that stuck out of it.   
  
"About a week." He admitted, his voice equally soft, pitched not to carry. "The hardest part was smuggling it all here without Aoko noticing."  
  
"I'll bet. The prop trees and the background from the drama department are a nice touch." She commented, reclining back in her chair. "It's a welcome distraction from the rain we've been having, but it's missing some of your usual flair. I'm wondering where the trick is."  
  
"Give it time." He smirked, slipping his sunglasses back on his face. "I'll have Hakuba in one of these shirts by the end of the day."  
  
She laughed quietly in return, lifting her glass in a silent toast.  
  
-fin-  
  
Okay, yeah, its stupid and not quite as funny as some other fics, but sometimes the plot bunnies won't go away.  
  
And the mental picture of Kaito lounging around in a tacky hawaiian shirt with a beach background and props had us snickering.   
  
We're still trying to picture Hakuba in a tacky hawaiian shirt... o_O (yet somehow it works if we dye his hair green... ) 


End file.
